Marcha por la Vida

On Sunday 15 th October it was the ‘Marcha por la vida’ or walk for life that
took place on Torrevieja’s sea front. Although it is an annual event, this year it
seemed to attract more people than ever; keen to demonstrate their solidarity
when it comes to the fight against cancer.
The crowd began to gather at 11am with people meeting around the Hombre
del Mar as well as further up the paseo. There were plenty of pink t-shirts on
display with people having already reserved theirs in advance. Last year they
actually ran out on the day. It was very much a family occasion with mums,
dads and children and pink was everywhere.
People had come up with lots of ideas for spreading the word, including pink
ribbons in children’s hair and dogs sporting bink bows too. Those people who
had registered were given a bottle of water and a pink scarf which could also
be seen on a few pets who accompanied the walkers.
It wasn’t just those who had already registered who turned up. Many people
arrived and bought their t-shirt to take part on the day. This swell in numbers
means that there could have been as many as 600 people there. The
numbers are growing every year.
The walkers were a little late in setting off due to the arrival of so many at the
last minute. The anticipated start time of 11.30am was delayed for perhaps 20
minutes whilst the final participants were registered. The police were there to
escort those taking part on the march to Las Columnas and back.
Jenny Dodd was one of those taking part; ‘There were lots of puzzled looking
northern Europeans wondering what was going on,’ she says. ‘But also quite
a few puzzled Spaniards who are visiting for the holiday period. It was very
hot, especially in the t-shirt and it was just as well that a breeze got up as we
set off.’
The money raised from the day will go towards the AECC (La Asociación
Española Contra el Cáncer) and following the turnout, the event is expected
to have raised a significant amount.